Device for recording drilling operations



.June 30, 1942.

P. B. NICHOLS Filed May 21, 1938 Reg 5/" 606 /V 'fro/s.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ill INVENTOR AT oRiqEY Patented June 30, 1942 DEVICE FOR RECORDING DRILLING v OPERATIONS Paul Briscoe Nichols, Seminole, kla., assignor, by mesne assignments, of one-half to Cities Service Oil Company, Bartleaville, 0kla., a corporation of Delaware Application May 21, 1938, Serial No. 209,25

3 Claims. (Cl. 234-53) This invention relates to the art of drilling earth formations and particularly to a recorder operable in conjunction with a rotary drilling rig for graphically recording drilling operations, and has for its principal object to provide mechanism of this character for automatically recording the time that the drill is in operation, spe d of penetration through the earth formations and depth of drilling. p

Other important objects of the invention are to provide a device of this character for recording change in drilling action of the bit as it penetrates formations of varying hardness; and to record other operations in rotary drilling; such as running in and pulling of the drill pipe, the making of connections, time of shut-downs for repairs, in their relation to time and sequence to each other.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus of this character which is of simple construction and capable of positive operation and responsive to movements of the drilling string of a rotary rig.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, as hereinafter pointed out, I have provided improved structure, the preferredform of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a rotary well drilling rig and derrick equipped with a recording apparatus embodying the features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail perspective view of the recording apparatus.

Fig. 3 is-a side elevational view thereof.

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view.

Fig. 5 is a detail section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the pen and its actuating lever for recording rate of drilling, depth of the drill hole, and change of formation through which the drill bit progresses.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

tary turntable 9 and carries a suitable bit (not shown) for drilling earth formations.

. nected with the winding drum is a spring motor Mounted on the floor I! of the derrick is a recording apparatus embodying the features of the present invention. The recording apparatus includes a frame ll having legs l2 connected by upper and lower longitudinal bars l3ll and lB-IG and cross bars I! to form a rigid structure. Mounted on the longitudinal bars l5 and I6 are bearings l8 supporting a shaft I9 which rotatably carries a cable winding drum 20. Con- 2| normally tensioned to rotate the drum in adirection to wind 9. cable 22 thereon and which is yieldably responsive to pull of the cable in permitting unwinding of the cable therefrom in following the movements of the drilling string as later described.

Carried on the longitudinal bars II and I4, adjacentone of the ends thereof, are brackets 23 and 24 carrying bearings 25 for mounting the ends of a shaft 26 carrying a measuring wheel 21. The wheel 21 includes a hub 28 that is loosely and slidably mounted on the shaft 26 and which is provided with an annular groove 29 engaging the pins 30 on the forked end 3| of a shiftin lever 32 to effect sliding movement of the wheel l designates a standard derrick supporting a crown block 2 carrying pulleys from which the drilling string is suspended by tackle mechanism string 5. The tackle mechanism is actuated through a cable 6 operating over a winding drum 3 connected with a swivel head 4 on the drilling v on the shaft. Secured to the shaft by a spline 33, in juxtaposition with the wheel 21, is a driven disk 34 that is retained from longitudinal movement on the shaft by a thrust collar 35 engaging against the end of the bearing supported on the bracket 24. The disk 34 has a side face 36 adapted for frictional engagement with the adjacent side face 31 of the measuring wheel under influence of a coil spring 38 that is sleeved on the shaft 26 and has one end seated on a washer 39 engaging the bearing 25 and its opposite end against the hub of the measuring wheel as best shown in Fig. 5. The shift lever 32 is pivotally supported on an arm 40 that projects inwardly from the bracket 23 and is actuated by a rod 4| extending to a point adjacent the drillers-station on the derrick floor.

The measuring wheel has a grooved periphery pulley may be centered over the swivel head 4. From the pulley 43 the cable extends downward-v ly within the derrick and connects with the swivel head 4 so that as the drilling string is lowered with progress of the bit, the cable 22 is correspondingly unwound from the cable reel to effect rotation of the measuring wheel and corresp nding rotation of the disk when the shift lever is released to permit frictional driving engagement of the measuring wheel. The disk 34 is formed of a magnetizable material and is adapted to attract a ma net 48 that is carried on the frame 46 of a recorder mechanism.

The frame 48 includes uprights 41 and 4| located on the respective sides of the bearing bracket 24 and projecting upwardly from the bar I4, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, to carry a cross bar 49 having its ends secured thereto at points spaced below the upper ends thereof. Mounted on the ends of the uprights is a rail 50 having a groove il in its upper face to form a track for rollers 52. Supported on the rollers 52 is a carriage 53 comprising a bar having grooved tracks 54 and ii in the upper and lower faces thereof to be guidingly engaged by the rollers 52 and an upper set of rollers It that are seated in the grooved track 55 and engage in a groove track 51 of an upper rail The upper rail 68 is supported from the rail 50 by spacing blocks 59 and 60 so that the carriage is mounted for free longitudinal movement between the re-.

spective sets of'rollers under actuation of the magnet 45. The magnet 48 is pivotally supported on the cross bar 4! by a pivot pin H at a point substantially over the extended axis of the disk 34 so that the lower end ofthe magnet overlaps and substantially contacts the side face of the disk.

Projecting from the pivot end of the magnet is an arm 62 having a longitudinal slot '8 for engaging a pin 64 that projects from the adjacent side of the carriage so that when the magnet is moved by its attraction to the disk 34 the carriage is moved along the supporting tracks to carry a stylus or pen Ii that is carried on an arm 44 attached to one end of the carriage as best shown in Fig. 6. Projecting upwardly from a lateral extension 81 on the longitudinal bar I4 is a bracket II which carries a clock mechanism I! having a driving shaft located in substantially the horizontal plane of the stylus 65 to mount a recorder drum H which carries a chart I! that is contacted by the stylus to record deflections of the magnet. Also pivotally mounted on a pin II at the end of the cross bar 49 adjacent the upright 4| is a lever arm 14 having a cam engaging lower end 18 that is adapted to be engaged by a lug It projecting from the periphery of the disk 84 to move the lever arm upon each revolution of the disk for making a record on the chart by a stylus 11 that is connected to the upper end of the lever arm and is supported in substantially the horizontal plane of the stylus previously described.

The shaft 28 may be connected with a counter II that is supported on a bracket 19 extending laterally from the bearing support 24 to register the number of rotations of the wheel 21 in a forward direction.

The mechanism thus described is mounted at a convenient point onthe derrick floor, for example, adjacent one of the derrick legs as shown in Fig. 1. The free end of the cable is placed in the groove of the pulley 21 and over the pulley 43 that is secured to the bracket 44 so that bled as described, a chart I2 is applied to the recording drum and the styluses are adjusted so that they make contact therewith. The clock motor 49 is then set in motion to effect rotation of the recording drum. Assuming that the drilling string is being rotated by the turnabie 9 to rotate the drill bit, progress of the bit pulls on the cable 22 so that it is unwound from the reel progressively with penetration of the bit. This movement of the cable imparts a corresponding rotation of the measuring pulley to effect'swinging movement of the magnet in the direction of disk rotation, which effects corresponding opposite movement of the carriage and is recorded by the stylus on the chart.

The magnet 45 shows the direction of movement of the cable 22 and consequently the direction of movement of the drill bit, and this movement is recorded on the chart by the stylus 65. During normal drilling operations the magnet 45 will ride near the edge of the disk in the direction of rotation as far-as its length will allow. However, if the bit encounters a formation which causes the drill pipe to move verti- 'cally, as in "rough drilling, the vertical movement will be transmitted by the line of cable 22 to the pulley 21, and through the pulley to the disk 84, and thence to the magnet which is sensitive to any reverse motion having followed the disk as far in the normal direction as its position will allow. This reverse movement will be shown on the chart as an increase in width of the record made by the stylus I. In the same manner the magnet will act to eii'ect recording by reversal of position the moment the bit is raised off the bottom of the well, or as in withdrawing the drilling string, circulating of fluid, or while repairs are being made, etc.

The drilling speed is shown by the number of horizontal lines made by the stylus II on the time chart I2, for example if a measuring wheel is two feet in circumference the record of the stylus 11 will be a vertical line until it is forced out of line by the lug I4, thereby making a short horizontal line. The distance between any two of these horizontal lines will be shown on the chart as the elapsed time of drilling two feet of formation. The stylus I1 simultaneously records the depth of drilling since the lever is actuated on each revolution of the disk, the cam striking the lower end of the lever to effect pivotal movement thereof. The lower end of the arm, being heavier than the pen end, assumes its perpendicular position after each actuation thereof by the cam. The recordings on the charts will not only show the speed and depth of drilling through the various formations, but it will also indicate and record the operations in rotary drilling such as round trips, connections, shut-downs for repairs, etc. in their relation to time and to each other.

From the foregoing it is apparent that I have provided a simple mechanism which is well adapted for recording the various drilling operations connected with a rotary drilling rig and which accurately records the operations.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A recorder including a chart, means movably supporting the chart, means for advancing said chart, a. stylus, means pivotally supporting the stylus for contact with the chart, a freely movable magnet connected with said stylus, a rotor formed of magnetizable metal, means supporting the rotor in the field 01' said magnet, an actuator for said rotor adapted for connection with an operating mechanism having irregular movement in opposite directions, a second stylus,

means movably supporting said second stylus in contact with the chart, a cam-engaging arm connected with said stylus, and a cam on said rotor for effecting a recording by said stylus or definite predetermined advance of the rotor in one direction.

2. A recorder including a chart, means removably supporting the chart, means for advancing said chart, a stylus, means movably supporting the stylus for contact with the movable chart, a freely movable deflecting memberconnected with the stylus, a rotor member, one of said members constituting a magnet for effecting a magnetic drag -between said members to actuate the deflecting member, means supporting the rotor member for rotation relatively to the deflecting member, an actuator for said rotor member for connection 'with an operating mechanism havrotor member, one of said members constituting a magnet for efiecting a magnetic drag between the members to actuate the oscillatable member, said oscillatable member being positioned ad- Jacent the rotor member and being normally disposed substantially radial thereto, said oscillatable member being adapted upon rotation of the rotor member to move out or and away from its substantially radial position with respect to the rotor member and to approach a tangential position with a portion thereof in proximity to the peripheral regions of the rotor member due to the magnetic drag between the members, and means connecting the rotor member with an operating mechanism having intermittent directional movement.

' PAUL BRISCOE NICHOLS. 

